One in Nineteen
by orangezauber
Summary: Elena finds some photos of a girl Stefan says was his best friend/fiance, Hattie Witworth, from 1864. When Jenna's friend, Ally Witworth, returns from Africa, Elena begins to wonder if Hattie and Ally are the same person. But how can Ally still have a heartbeat if she's as old as Stefan? Why does Ally spend so much time with the Bennetts? And why is Damon following her every move?
1. Strange Photos

**A/N: Hi everyone! I have been absent from the whole fanfiction writing scene for a while, but I thought I would try writing a Vampire Diaries story on top of my other projects. Feel free to leave a review and tell me your thoughts! Enjoy!**

* * *

**One in Nineteen**

**Chapter 1**

**Strange Photos**

Elena stared at the pictures that fell out of one of Stefan's diaries from the book shelf in his bedroom. The girl in Stefan's arms looked really familiar to Elena. The girl looked about Stefan's age and the two of them were both wearing clothing one might find in the mid 1800's. Her hair was a lighter shade of brown coming off her head in soft waves. Even with the black, white, and faded yellow of the photo, Elena could tell her eyes were a light color; perhaps blue or green.

Taking her eyes briefly off of the two figures, Elena flipped to the second photo in the stack. Again, it was Stefan with the same girl. The photo was faded like the first one with the same 1800's style clothing. However, this time the girl had her head tilted up towards Stefan. Both had small smiles as they looked into each other's face. It was strange to see people smiling in pictures this old. It was obvious they meant something to each other.

The rest of the photos in the stack were similar as the first, always Stefan and the familiar looking girl. Why did she look so familiar? Elena swore she had seen this girl before, but that was impossible because the pictures were taken over 145 years ago. She could be a vampire, but Elena was sure she would remember if Stefan or even Damon introduced another vampire living in Mystic Falls.

"What are these," Elena whispered out loud.

"These were my engagement photos."

Elena jumped. She turned to see Stefan right behind her. She had not heard her come in, but then again she usually never heard Stefan enter a room because of his vampire stealth. "You were engaged? How come you never told me?"

"It was a long time ago and my father arranged it," Stefan said as he flipped to a photo in the center of the pile and showed it to Elena. It was a picture of him holding the girl's ring clad hand. She was looking down at the ring with a smile not quite reaching her eyes, but showing she was happy just the same. The Stefan in the picture was looking slightly down towards the girls face.

"He arranged for you to be married when you were, what, only 17 years old," Elena asked as she studied the picture Stefan was holding out to her.

"Well, marriage laws were different back then. It wasn't uncommon for parents to arrange marriage for their children to ensure a continuation of the family line. It often didn't matter if the couple was in love. As long as they came from similar backgrounds, they were usually found to be a fit match."

"Who is she? She can't be more than 16 or 17."

"Her name was Hattie Whitworth and she was ending her 16th year when our engagement was announced. We were to marry on her 18th birthday. A year engagement was on the longer end of engagements, but the wedding was meant to be the event of the year so our parents wanted plenty of time to plan," Stefan explained as he continued to look through the stack, remembering the day the he and Hattie posed for the photos. "These were taken a little less than a year before our marriage was set to happen…"

_"Father, must we take another one," Stefan asked with his arms still around Hattie, who was swaying back and forth watching the hem of her green and white day gown in boredom. Stefan knew she hated wearing fancier clothing. Hattie preferred simple and comfortable dresses which allowed her to freely move or least of all breath. Hattie only fidgeted when she wore more elaborate dresses to show off her status._

_ "Yes, my son," Giuseppe Salvatore replied with a sharp nod. "We are starting a tradition for our future family…your future family. We want to ensure they see just how advanced we are and how happy the two of you are. Now, Hattie, stop squirming so we can manage a good engagement photo for the two of you."_

_ Hattie looked up at the man, who would be her future father-in-law, before she halted her movements. "My apologies, Mr. Salvatore."_

_ "Father, why did you not give Damon the same consideration. Is it not typical for the eldest of the family to wed first," Stefan asked releasing his hold on his betrothed. "Why is he not the one getting married considering he is older than both Hattie and myself?"_

_ Giuseppe sighed. "Your brother's situation is far different that yours. He would hardly listen to what I have to say let alone allow me to arrange a marriage for him. Plus, Hattie is of your age Stefan. You would think that with all of the time you spend together you would be pleased with the match. You do enjoy Hattie, do you not?"_

_ "We do enjoy each other's company, sir," Hattie intervened, licking her lips nervously. She knew it was frowned upon to talk back to a father figure, but she knew Stefan was just as unhappy with the idea of marriage as she."It's just…I would have liked to travel a bit before getting married. It has always been a dream of mine to see the world before settling down. Perhaps we would wait a year or two before making any sort of marriage arrangements."_

_ "Traveling is not proper for a lady of your age, Miss Whitworth," Giuseppe scolded the young girl in front of him. The two teens knew when he used Hattie's sur name that he was upset. "Now, hold still so that we may finish at a reasonable hour. And I will tolerate no more talk of postponement. We are going through with this wedding."_

_ "Yes, Sir," the two teenagers murmured. Stefan slightly pinched Hattie through the ribbing of her dress. She gave a small shriek of surprise, but smiled when she saw the playful look in his eyes. They knew after the photos were finished they would be able to change out of their uncomfortable clothing into more normal daywear and run in the garden until Hattie's mother arrived for dinner._

"That must have been horrible to get married on your birthday," Elena commented causing Stefan to come out of his ravine. "Why would they pick such a date?"

"Birthdays weren't such a big deal as they are now. A wedding, on the other hand, was something of a celebration. Their excuse for picking Hattie's birthday was they always had perfect weather," Stefan recalled with a shake of his head. "It always seemed a little ridiculous to me."

"So I'm curious, what happened? Because I am sensing that the engagement didn't last very long?"

Stefan gave Elena a look and wiggled his right hand, showing off his daylight ring.

"Right. I forgot about that," Elena laughed nervously. "Turning into a vampire would put a damper on an engagement and marriage, I guess."

"Yeah, well the demise of the engagement actually started with Katherine. She arrived at my family's house about a month after the photo session with Hattie. If there was one thing I learned about Katherine, it was she always wanted what she could not have. And because I was off the market she wanted me…desperately." Stefan dropped the photos back on his desk and stood by the window as he continued his tale. "She tried her hardest to break up the engagement all the while trying to remain in my father's good graces. I didn't mind at the time, about Katherine pushing her way in. I was enamored by her fun nature and beauty. I was convinced I was in love with her and that is what I wanted…love.

_"Come along, Stefan, I wanted to have you show me the fireflies in the garden before my mother comes to take me home," Hattie said, tugging gently on Stefan's sleeve._

_ "I was told to wait for Miss Katherine," Stefan replied, staring longingly up the staircase where he knew Katherine was currently residing. _

_ "Stefan, please. You promised," Hattie whispered as she continued to slightly tug on Stefan's sleeve. "Please, don't break another promise to me."_

_ "Hattie," Stefan sighed turning to his friend. He saw that she had tears in her eyes ready to spill over but he paid no attention. "Just because we are being forced into a marriage does not mean that we have to spend every moment together. If you want to watch the fireflies, then go out to the garden yourself."_

_ "Why are you speaking so harshly to me," Hattie quietly asked with tears threatening to spill. "You were the one that suggested we do this in the first place. If you did not want to spend the time with me than you would have spoken up earlier, instead of breaking an agreement."_

_ Stefan sighed again. "Katherine has gotten me thinking, Hattie. She has told me that I should not settle for what is forced upon me, that I should marry for love rather than connivance. I must admit, what she says breeds truth. Wouldn't you rather marry for love than marry because our parents said that we were a good match?"_

_ "Yes, of course, but—"_

_ "And that is what I intend on doing for myself…marrying for love." As soon as Stefan had said the last part of his sentence, his face broke out into a brilliant smile. He was looking up at Katherine Pierce with a look of pure bliss and happiness…a look of possible love._

"Her selfishness never bothered me because she compelled me to see past it. Eventually, I was also convinced by Katherine to not go through the marriage because Hattie and I didn't want to marry each other. Katherine found that out and it made it all too easy for her to rip us apart. Hattie was one of my best friends and I pushed her away much to the displeasure of my father."

Elena looked up at Stefan. His eyes were swimming with regret. It was obvious he still cared for the girl, Hattie, even after all these years. "Why would you pick Katherine over her? Hattie looks like a really nice girl and very pretty."

"She was. And she had a really great personality. She was sweet and kind, had a bit of a sarcastic streak, but only allowed Damon or me to see it. She knew her place in society, but always knew how to make me and Damon laugh when we were away from the prying ears of our parents. I did love her, but it wasn't the type of love either of us wanted in order to get married. It was the type of love you feel for either Bonnie or Carolyn; the type of love you only feel for a close friend. Plus I was compelled by Katherine. I had no choice, but to push Hattie away."

"What happened to her?"

"See, that's the thing. I have no idea what happened. I couldn't very well check up on her on a regular basis because I was so involved in blood lust that I was afraid I might hurt her. I may not have loved her the way that our parents intended us to be, but she was one of my very good friends at the time. I did see her off and on following the years after I turned. This included the day was would have been our wedding, her 18th birthday, but that was one of the last time I actually saw her. After that it became harder to find her and then it was like she completely disappeared. No one was supposed to know I was alive so I couldn't ask anyone in town where she had gone."

"You mentioned she was friends with Damon as well. Do you know if Damon kept track of her?"

"Not that I know of. He was pretty hung up on Katherine at the time to even pay attention to much else. I know Hattie felt something for Damon, though. I would always find the two of them together in the garden, just talking.

"I remember seeing Hattie the night I died. She was there, but like I said Damon was too caught up in saving Katherine to notice. We could hear Hattie crying out our names after we were shot. Her father was holding her back. But I will never forget the look in her eyes, the total devastation when she saw Damon being shot. Even though she was calling both of our names her eyes never left Damon's body."

"That must have been horrible for her to see you dying on the ground and not being able to do anything to help the two of you. I don't know what I would have done if I was in that situation."

"I think it hurt her more that we had died to save Katherine. I wish I had been able to see through Katherine's mind games at the time. It still gets to me how I treated Hattie during that time. I should have been there for her.

"Katherine took something from her that was extremely important to her, our friendship. We broke her heart by choosing Katherine over her. Then again, as you know well, Katherine took a lot of important things in her existence. Why are you so interested about Hattie anyway?"

"She looks familiar to me," Elena said lifting up the photo of the girl called Hattie once more. "I can't pin point anyone I have met who looks exactly like the girl in the picture, but she does have features that too memorable for me to forget. You would tell me if she was still alive, well, in a matter of speaking, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, but you don't have to worry because I have you and I wouldn't trade you for anyone from my past," Stefan replied pulling the photo out of Elena's hands and tugging on the loop of her pants until the two of them toppled over onto Stefan's bed laughing.


	2. Jenna's Friend

Chapter 2: Jenna's Friend

* * *

"_Hi, you've reached Jenna's phone. She currently unavailable, but if you would be so kind as to leave a message and she will decide to get back to you. Ta!"_

_BEEP_

"Hey Jenna, it's Ally. I'm running a little late. Dr. Nelson wouldn't stop talking about the problems with my thesis or the lack of subjects. Honestly, with the amount of time I have spent on it I am starting not to care if he likes it or not. Who really needs a degree in Psychology anyway? So, yeah I'll explain all of that when I get there…I'll see you in a few."

Ally snapped the phone closed as she jumped into her car. She was supposed to meet Jenna at The Grill 15 minutes ago, but her meeting with her thesis advisor ran late… like usual. Luckily Jenna was usually late herself so it wouldn't be such a bit deal when Ally walked in a few minutes after the agreed meeting time. Also, Jenna knew what Dr. Nelson was like because he was also her thesis advisor.

It took about 10 minutes for Ally to drive from campus to The Grill. Even though the commute back to Mystic Falls was short, Ally still found it annoying that she had to drive to campus at least twice a day just for her professors to tell her what she did wrong. Whoever said graduate school was a breeze was seriously mistaken. "Then again," Ally thought to herself with a sarcastic laugh, "it was probably me who said it in the first place."

Ally parked across the street from The Grill, the main hang out spot for everyone in Mystic Falls. As Ally stepped out of her car she heard a familiar voice yell, "hey Al. Glad to see you finally made it!"

Ally smiled as she turned in the direction of the voice. "Don't want to hear it, Jenna. You probably just got here too." Ally had officially met Jenna a few years ago when they had both started their graduate program for a Master's in Psychology. They often spent their weekends quizzing each other for exams, participating in parallel study sessions, or drinking heavily while talking about horrible dates. Since then the two had been the best of friends.

Jenna gave her brunette friend sheepish smile. "I kinda fell asleep, effectively losing track of time. I blame it on school and becoming a guardian. So how have you been, world traveler?"

"Other than the fact I suck at research, Africa was great. There are a lot of interesting people there," Ally said pulling Jenna into a hug. "How have things been for you? Feeling grown up, yet?"

"You have no idea how difficult it is to constantly take care of two living beings," Jenna replied pulling out of the hug. "You saw how much I struggled with it when it was just me!"

"Oh come on," Ally laughed. "Those two are practically grown. How much do you have to do to keep them in line? Just give them a bowl of water and a refrigerator full of food and they are set for a week."

"It's a lot more difficult than one might think. The past few of months have been hard on both of them. Elena isn't as bubbly and outgoing as she used to be and the really sad part was, Jeremy was using for a while."

"No way! Little Jeremy. He was just a cute little awkward kid two years ago. Heck, I swear he was still a cute little awkward kid six months ago," Ally stared wide eyed at her friend. "I would have never expected them to spiral downward so much."

"Yeah, well, his attitude isn't very cute anymore, he's just another teenage boy. He spends most of his time at The Grill. I think it's because he can't stand to be in the house where his parents used to live; not that I blame him," Jenna shrugged, a sad look appearing on her face at the thought of her deceased sister and brother-in-law.

"But you said he's doing better," Ally asked, beginning to walk towards the entrance to the Grill with Jenna following.

"Yeah," Jenna replied. "It was sudden, but I'm not complaining. I like this sarcastic, joking Jeremy much better that the druggie depressed Jeremy. It got so bad, I was called into a parent teacher conference with Jeremy's former history teacher. That was an all time low. Did you know that some teachers actually create things such as 'Jack Ass' files?"

"What does a 'Jack Ass' file even mean?" Ally snorted in a very un-lady like fashion.

"Apparently it's reserved for students who skip classes, don't finish their assignments, and sass back to teachers. Jeremy made up at least a quarter of the file with all of the things he has done in the past year."

Ally let out a full bodied laugh. "People who make things like that are not mentally stable enough to work with kids. I still don't get why you would make such a file, in the first place. Oh, I have an idea! Maybe I should change my thesis subject to crazy teachers in small towns getting their kicks from hassling students."

"Well, they don't have to worry about their teacher's mental status anymore. He was killed a few months ago right before the start of the year football game."

"Oh, oops. I actually heard about that. Last time we talked, Elena said her teacher that was mauled by…what was it? A mountain lion." Jenna nodded along as Ally talked. "Jeeze, and I thought the puff adder snake in South Africa was worrisome. I can't imagine having to worry about mountain lion attacks within Mystic Falls town line. There have been quite a few of them recently haven't there?"

"It's been a really have had a really rough year for the kids and the whole town in general. Elena and Jeremy deserve to just forget it all. Well, I guess in Jeremy's case…drugs are his tool to forget. I'm glad he's off of that shit now. I would have hated having to whip his little teenage butt."

Ally and Jenna continued talking as they walked into the Grill. "Well, all depressive conversations aside, how about we talk about something happier." Ally wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around her as she began to tease Jenna. Suddenly someone bumped into Ally's shoulder…hard.

"Excuse me for being in your way," Ally said with a bit of a sarcastic edge to her voice. She reached up to massage the sting away from her shoulder from the impact with the unknown person.

"I am so sorry," a kind and concerned voice spoke.

Ally briefly looked up to see who would have such general sorrow at the fact that they ran into someone. She saw unruly light brown hair, dark eyes that reflected green, and a strong jaw. The person looked to be in his late teens and Ally couldn't help but stare at him in shock. Another person, a teenage girl, stood next to the boy, but Ally hardly took any notice.

"Hey, Stefan. Hey Elena" Jenna said with a smile of recognition. "I assume the rest of the group is around here, somewhere close by."

"Ally! I'm so glad you're back," Elena embraced her aunt's friend. Elena had known Ally as long as her aunt had and Ally quickly became a honorary member of the Gilbert/Sommers clan with her quick wit and kind nature.

"Bonnie and Caroline are in the back." Stefan continued to stare at Ally as he answered Jenna. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"

"Oh sorry, Stefan," Elena apologized looking between the two. "This is Jenna's friend Ally. Ally, this is Stefan, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you, Stefan," Ally said shaking her head to get over the initial shock and reaching out to shake the boy's hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Ally." Stefan slowly nodded, as he slowly shook Ally's hand.

Ally let go of Stefan and turned to Jenna. "You allowed Elena to get a boyfriend. What kind of guardian are you?"

"I'm a great guardian. Just ask Elena."

"Of course she would say so. Look at him. What girl wouldn't be happy to have a guy like him? I mean no offence by that, Stefan. You seem like a really great guy, but in all honesty, if you hurt one of my girls I may have to unleash the inner beast. Understand, Mr. Salvatore."

Stefan said, chuckling a bit. "Other than Elena, which girls would you be talking about?"

"Jenna and Bonnie, of course," Ally replied coolly narrowing here eyes, sizing up the male in front of her.

"I forgot that you were close with the Bennetts," Jenna chuckled. "The way you act around Sheila, the two of you could be sisters."

"What can I say, Sheila and I have an understanding that is deep rooted within the forces of nature," Ally smirked at Jenna.

"There you go acting all mysterious and cryptic again. No wonder you are a psychology person. You're as cryptic as the human mind," Jenna laughed. She loved spending time with Ally for that exact reason, the girl certainly knew how to make a person laugh using her obscure statements.

Stefan felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a text from Damon saying

'_Urgent. Home now._'

In order to comply with his brother's request, Stefan interrupted the banter between the two slightly older women. He would have liked to stay to figure out who this Ally person really was and why he had never seen her in Mystic Falls before now, but Damon's message had set him on edge especially considering the current tomb vampire issue. "Well, if you ladies excuse me I must be getting home. I will catch up with you later, Jenna. Ally, again, it was nice meeting you."

"You too, Stefan," Ally smiled, but Stefan could see something in her eyes that held some apprehension.

"I'll come with you, Stefan," Elena said before turning to her aunt and aunt's friend. "Ally it was great seeing you again. I'm see you both later."

"Well, that was totally weird," Jenna stated as she watched Stefan walk away. "He was looking at you like you were some long lost puppy of his. If I wasn't so sure of his devotion to Elena, I am sure he would have taken you home like some kind of stray."

"Woof, woof," Ally laughed as her eyes caught two more teenage girls approaching them. One with dark skin and dark hair and the other the complete opposite with light skin and blonde hair.

"Ally," the two girls exclaimed as they got closer.

"Bonnie, Caroline!"

"Have you told anyone else you're back in town," Bonnie inquired. "Grams has been ranting about your lack of communication recently."

"That woman really does hate surprises," Ally shook her head. "Not to worry, Bon. I'll visit your Grams after I leave here so I can tell her all about my latest adventures."

"Speaking of which, how did your research go?"

"It was a complete waste of time," Ally replied crossing her arms. "A lot of my subjects bailed on me throughout the study, meaning my research is postponed until I can get a new sample population. What do you say, Caroline? You want to be my guinea pig on the emotional effects during celestial/lunar phases and how that impacts the overall aggression of the human psyche?"

"I'd rather not considering I have no idea what you just said. And also, I wouldn't really want to do that anyway. You understand, right," Caroline said giving the slightly older friend an unsympathetic smile.

"I am wounded. Absolutely wounded. Jenna you should teach your niece's friends to be kinder to me," Ally complained raising her hands to her chest as if showing how she was wounded.

Jenna shrugged. "Caroline has a mind of her own, Ally. You should know that."

"Teenagers," Ally said earning a light slap to the arm from Bonnie. "Abuse, abuse. Jenna she is beating on me."

The four girls burst into laughter. None of them noticed Stefan and Elena were still watching them from the opposite corner of the restaurant from the exit. There was something strange about the Ally person.

"Stefan, I'm get the feeling I've seen Ally somewhere recently, but I know that's not possible. She's been in Africa for the past six months," Elena whispered to Stefan.

"Hmm, you're right. She does seem familiar, but if she has been gone for six months that doesn't explain why I find her so familiar." Stefan continued watching until he saw Ally turn her head to look directly at him. She gave a small smirk before turning back to the group of girls and quipped, "So what do you ladies think of Elena's boyfriend?"

Stefan was in disbelief. Did Ally actually know he was still there watching them? He thought he was hidden in the shadows well enough for none of them to notice, but the seemingly direct eye contact and smile made him think otherwise.

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone. Now that the introductions have been made and Ally is now in Mystic Falls, the fun can begin :-)**

**Feel free to leave a review, suggestion, question, or comment!**

**Always,**  
**orangezauber**


End file.
